The present invention relates to a method of administering antibiotics and related compounds to prevent infection at an open surgical site.
Prior methods of preventing surgical infection general involve administering either oral, but preferably intravenous doses of antibiotic prior to surgery to provide a systemic dispersion of antibiotic.
However, some patients experience side effects from systemic doses of antibiotics, such as subsequent GI distress due to a change in bacterial flora.
Moreover, a relatively high dose is required to provide enough antibiotics in the region of exposed tissue that is most susceptible to infection.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,521 (issued to Silberg on May 20, 2003) discloses a method and system for removing body vessels from a patient for subsequent use in a grafting procedure, such as, for example, saphenous vein graft harvesting for a coronary bypass surgical operation. A quantity of a solution is infused into tissue surrounding the portion of the vessel to be removed. An external device is used to apply an energy field to the tissue to loosen the intercellular connections between the tissue and the vessel to be removed. One such device is an ultrasonic instrument having an ultrasonic transducer comprised of a composite of ultrasonic crystal transducers. Once the energy field has been applied, the portion of the vessel to be removed is separated from surrounding tissue and tributary vessels are ligated. The portion of the vessel is then transected and removed from the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,048 (issued to Silberg on Mar. 21, 2000) discloses that antibiotics may be injected with normal saline solution when ultrasonic energy is used to loosen fat tissue prior to removal by liposuction. The ultrasonic energy, which is transmitted via the saline solution, disrupts connective tissue between fat cells and hence facilitates the removal of the fatty tissue.
However, as the fat cells are removed from the area with the liposuction tube, and no further surgical incisions are made, it is expected that antibiotics are removed with the fat tissue and will not provide a longer term therapeutic effect.
Accordingly, there is an on-going need for an improved means to administer antibiotic compounds prior to surgery so as to minimize infection.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a more effective means for the targeted delivery of antibiotics or other therapeutic agents prior to surgery.
It is an additional objective of the invention to pre-operatively deliver such antibiotics or therapeutic agents and avoid potential complications and secondary effects of systemic application.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a higher local concentration of antibiotic in the surgical site which will be open and hence subject to infection, and thus achieve a lower incidence of infection, as well as the faster healing of patients.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a means to reduce the quantity of antibiotics used pre- and post-operatively.
It is another object of the invention to also minimize the dehydration of tissues that are exposed during surgery.